All About Estates

Emily Hubling

Total 30 Posts Website
Emily Hubling is a partner in the Trusts, Wills, Estates and Charities group at Fasken. Emily has experience in advising estate trustees in administering a range of complex estate matters, including intestacies, cross-border matters, and contested estates. Working closely with clients’ advisors, Emily prepares Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Trusts to assist clients in fulfilling their unique estate-planning objectives.

New Year, New Estate Plan

It’s that time of year again – the holidays are coming to a close. As the festivities wind up, the new year brings a promise of renewal and a fresh start. Many people take the opportunity at this time of year to take stock of their lives, and their goals…

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Electronic Beneficiary Designations: an Interesting Change to the Pension Benefits Act

On November 15th, the Provincial Government released the Fall Economic Statement, and its accompanying implementation Bill. Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018,[1] contains 45 schedules, each relating to amendments to a different statute. Buried in Bill 57, in a single line of Schedule 33, is an interesting…

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The Advisor as Executor: Risks and Rewards Part 2

Last week, I discussed some of the risks for a professional advisor that may arise in the administration of the estate that are associated with the assets of the estate. This week’s blog considers risks which arise from the beneficiaries (or would-be beneficiaries) of the estate, as well as steps…

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The Advisor as Executor: Risks and Rewards

Introduction [1] It is not uncommon for a client to ask a professional advisor to act as his or her executor. For the advisor, this request may be an honour, as it speaks to the level of trust the client has in the advisor’s professional knowledge and judgment. The appointment…

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Revisiting Spence v BMO and the case of Discriminatory Wills: Why the saga should not be over

By: Giancarlo Mignardi, Summer Law Student   Two years later and, given the absence of any further noteworthy cases on point, including a Supreme Court decision, this blogger believes that further discussion about discriminatory wills is warranted. In Spence v BMO Trust Company,[1] the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) delivered…

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When a Modern Relationship and the Traditional Family Clash: a Lesson for Estate Planners

Guest written by Jessica Nolan, student-at-law at Fasken. A recent case out of British Columbia offers a number of lessons for estate planning. Robledano v. Jacinto (2018 BCSC 152) involved the estate of Barbara Jacinto who died unexpectedly. Barbara had been in a relationship with Maria Robledano on and off…

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Estate Planning for Millennials

As a “millennial” (an imprecise demographic term which describes those born between 1980 and somewhere in the late 1990s), I often hear about the ways in which my generation is doing things differently (often worse) than those generations before us: we live on our smartphones[1], we can’t seem to get…

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Real Property and Probate: Quick Tips and Traps

An estate planner’s clients typically express a desire to minimize taxes payable on death, including Estate Administration Tax (“probate fees”), which are payable on the value of the assets governed by a Will which is probated. For many clients, their home is their asset of most significant value. With the…

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An Estate Plan for Fido

Clients often ask about how to best ensure their pets are cared for in their estate plans. It’s a topic this blog has covered before, from the care of commercial animals after the owner’s death, to the pitfalls in drafting clauses for the benefit of pets, to the curious case…

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A Trustee’s Duty to Disclose: A Recent Ruling from the SCC

The Supreme Court recently released a decision that, while arising in the construction context, has important implications for estates practitioners. In the case of Valard Construction Ltd. V Bird Construction Co. (2018 SCC 8), a majority of the SCC found that, In general, wherever a beneficiary would be unreasonably disadvantaged…

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